Wicomico County, Maryland · Salisbury
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With 21% of homes built before 1960 and about 10 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
October brings the most downpours to Wicomico County, part of 9.3 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Wicomico County gets about 9.3 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Wicomico County, 5.75 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
12% of occupied homes in Wicomico County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Maryland county median of 9.3%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 76 times a year in Wicomico County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 44,127 homes and around 104,914 residents, Wicomico County is 374 square miles of southeast Maryland. Salisbury is the county seat; Fruitland, Delmar and Pittsville are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1984, half after.
44/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Wicomico County ranks 17 of 23 Maryland counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Wicomico County ranks highest compared with other Maryland counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Wicomico County sits near the middle of the state. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 10 nights a year at or below 20°F (15th of 23) and 74 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 4 days below freezing (ending February 2016), and the low bottomed out near 0°F on February 21, 2015.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs December to February. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 9 and end around Mar 28.
Rainfall is about average for Maryland. The county gets about 45.6 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 9.3 days of an inch or more (12th of 23). Those downpours cluster in July, August and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 5.75 inches on September 30, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.44 inches, ending September 30, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 70 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
44% of homes in Wicomico County predate 1980, close to the Maryland county median of 43.9%, which ranks 13th of Maryland's 23 counties.
28% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Maryland. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
28% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Renters occupy 38% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 76 times a year here, close to the Maryland county median of 76. Keep indoor humidity under 60%, as the EPA advises, and dry any leak within 24 to 48 hours; in a humid month a wet basement left alone won't dry by itself.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Wicomico County's occupied homes: 17% utility gas, 62% electric, 11% propane and 1% wood. Propane heat is above the Maryland norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Wicomico County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Wicomico gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Dorchester County has the oldest housing nearby, with 57% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Wicomico | Maryland median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 21% | 20% | 10 of 23 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 44% | 44% | 13 of 23 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 28% | 23% | 7 of 23 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.9% | 2.6% | 8 of 23 |
| Vacant homes | 8.3% | 7.7% | 11 of 23 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 9.3% | 9 of 23 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 10/yr | 12/yr | 15 of 23 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.3/yr | 9.3/yr | 12 of 23 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 70/yr | 70/yr | 12 of 23 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 76/yr | 76/yr | 10 of 23 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Maryland county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Wicomico County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in July, August and October.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024); weather from NOAA nClimGrid-Daily county averages (EpiNOAA), 2015–2024, averaged across the county; county boundaries from Census TIGER. Reviewed 2026-10-21. Methodology